Browsing by Author "Akash Sharma"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Awareness and preparedness of healthcare workers against the first wave of the COVID19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey across 57 countries
    (2021) Huy Nguyen; R. Matthew Chico; Huan Vuong; Hosam Waleed Shaikhkhalil; Uyen Vuong; Ahmad Taysir Atieh Qarawi; Shamael Thabit Mohammed Alhady; Vuong Nguyen; Truong Le; Mai Luu; Shyam Prakash Dumre; Atsuko Imoto; Peter N. Lee; Tam Dao; Sze Jia Ng; Mohammad Rashidul Hashan; Mitsuaki Matsui; Duc Nguyen; Sedighe Karimzadeh; Nut Koonrungsesomboon; Chris Smith; Sharon Cox; Kazuhiko Moji; Kenji Hirayama; Linh Le; Kirellos Said Abbas; Dung Tran; Tareq Mohammed Ali AL-Ahdal; Emmanuel Oluwadare Balogun; Duy Nguyen; Mennatullah Mohamed Eltaras; Trang Huynh; Hue Nguyen; Khue Bui; Abdelrahman Gad; Gehad Mohamed Tawfik; Kazumi Kubota; Minh Nguyen; Dmytro Pavlenko; Trang Vu; Vu Le; Yen Tran; Xuan Nguyen; Trang Luong; Vinh Dong; Akash Sharma; Dat Vu; Mohammed Soliman; Jeza Abdul Aziz; Jaffer Shah; Hung Pham; Yap Siang Jee; Phuong Dang; Quynh Tran; Giang Hoang; Vy Huynh; Thi Nguyen; Nacir Dhouibi; Truc Phan; Vincent Duru; Nam Nguyen; Sherief Ghozy
    Background: Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there have been concerns related to the preparedness of healthcare workers (HCWs). This study aimed to describe the level of awareness and preparedness of hospital HCWs at the time of the first wave. Methods: This multinational, multicenter, cross-sectional survey was conducted among hospital HCWs from February to May 2020. We used a hierarchical logistic regression multivariate analysis to adjust the influence of variables based on awareness and preparedness. We then used association rule mining to identify relationships between HCW confidence in handling suspected COVID-19 patients and prior COVID-19 case-management training. Results: We surveyed 24,653 HCWs from 371 hospitals across 57 countries and received 17,302 responses from 70.2% HCWs overall. The median COVID-19 preparedness score was 11.0 (interquartile range [IQR] = 6.0–14.0) and the median awareness score was 29.6 (IQR = 26.6–32.6). HCWs at COVID-19 designated facilities with previous outbreak experience, or HCWs who were trained for dealing with the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, had significantly higher levels of preparedness and awareness (p<0.001). Association rule mining suggests that nurses and doctors who had a ’ great extent of confidence’ in handling suspected COVID-19 patients had participated in COVID-19 training courses. Male participants (mean difference = 0.34; 95% CI = 0.22, 0.46; p<0.001) and nurses (mean difference = 0.67; 95% CI = 0.53, 0.81; p<0.001) had higher preparedness scores compared to women participants and doctors. Interpretation: There was an unsurprising high level of awareness and preparedness among HCWs who participated in COVID-19 training courses. However, disparity existed along the lines of gender and type of HCW. It is unknown whether the difference in COVID-19 preparedness that we detected early in the pandemic may have translated into a disproportionate SARSCoV-2 burden of disease by gender or HCW type.